KILLER CALICO? SCHOOL JOINS BID TO KEEP CATS INSIDE.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer NEWHALL - A nationwide environmentalist environmentalist a person with an interest and knowledge about the interaction of humans and animals with the environment. effort to keep pet cats indoors Cats Indoors is a campaign by the American Bird Conservancy to encourage control of cats in order to protect birds from predation by cats. The objective of the Conservancy is that all domestic cats should be kept safely enclosed. won the endorsement Monday of Town and Country Farm School in rural Placerita Canyon, a picturesque campus that teaches a love of animals. In the past year, the school has lost nine birds - from pigeons to peacocks - to neighborhood cats, Lad Lengyel, one of the co-owners said. On Monday, school staff members returned from the weekend to find the school's remaining peacock dead. The drive behind the cat campaign is actually to keep the pets from preying on wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. , particularly the endangered en·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers 1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil. 2. To threaten with extinction. ones such as those that make their homes in Santa Clarita's dry riverbeds. But at Town and Country, the goal is to prevent toddlers from the horrors left behind when a playful play·ful adj. 1. Full of fun and high spirits; frolicsome or sportive: a playful kitten. 2. cat gets hold of a bird, Lengyel said. ``We have lost peacocks and peahens, ducks, chickens and pigeons in our schoolyard,'' Lengyel said. ``We find these birds chewed up. Our yard is very well-fenced, but cats can climb a phone pole and jump over.'' One large calico cat calico cat: see cat. calico cat In North America, a blotched or spotted domestic cat, usually predominantly white with red and black patches (a pattern also called tortoiseshell-and-white). in the area seems to be the culprit, but efforts to keep it off the school grounds have failed, he said. Setting a humane trap proved a waste of time. ``It doesn't work,'' he said. ``Why would they go in a trap to eat a piece of something that's been sitting there when they can get something fresh?'' Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, city officials said the city can limit the number of pets people keep, but can't order residents to keep their cats inside. Teresa Savaikie, a member of the conservation committee of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. chapter of the Audubon Society, recommends that homeowners associations set rules to keep cats indoors to protect sensitive habitats. At Town and Country, Lengyel said he has pleaded with neighbors to keep cats off his property, but the pets have minds of their own. ``Generally, cats are nice, but they're hard to control,'' he said. ``I'm not against them, but as the areas grows, cats should be kept inside.'' The 25-year-old school has up to 180 children in day care, preschool and after-school programs. One big draw for parents and children alike is the animals. ``Animals are a big part of the program,'' Lengyel said. ``We've had them since day one.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Lad Lengyel, co-owner of Town and Country Farm School, has been losing birds this past year to neighborhood cats. Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion